San Diego Injury Lawyer Blog

Doctors, like anyone, are not infallible. Every day, thousands of San Diegans put their trust, their bodies, and their health in the hands of doctors. Fortunately, there are many fine and skilled doctors in San Diego. However, that does not prevent incidents of medical malpractice from occurring--some of which result in lifetime injuries or death.

What most people do not realize is that doctors, unlike almost any other profession, are protected by a damages cap. Since 1975, California law has limited non-economic damages (e.g., pain and suffering) to $250,000. Under this law, NO medical malpractice victim's pain and suffering can be compensated more than this amount.

In 1975, the California legislature enacted the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) installing this cap and also other protections for doctors found to have committed malpractice. So, for 33 years the cap has remained $250,000--despite the fact that $250,000 in 1975 dollars is now worth $1,012,500! From January 1975 to January 2008, the annual rate of inflation has been 4.33% and $4.05 in 2008 dollars will buy the same as $1 in 1975.

Why hasn't MICRA kept pace with inflation? One reason is that the legislature failed, and continues to fail, to provide a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for MICRA even though COLAs are included in a variety of laws, contracts, and almost any other long-term financial arrangement.

Continue reading "Injured San Diego Patients Deserve MICRA Reform" »

Posted by Ross Jurewitz | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Legislation , Medical Malpractice , Tort Reform

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Recently, it was discovered that six cases of Hepatitis C were caused by grossly negligent practices at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. Among the cost and safety cutting procedures alleged were directions to staff to use syringes and vials of anesthesia more than once--despite the risk of spreading diseases.

Out of this scandal, Southern Nevadans have discovered a problem that should also concern patients in San Diego--how do patients find out about the doctors treating them?

In California, the state Medical Board does not provide any information about past or pending lawsuits for medical malpractice unless a judgment was entered or settlement reached in excess of $30,000. This makes is it difficult for patients to discovery evidence of poor, although perhaps not negligent, performance by their doctors. Due to the scarlet letter this hangs on the chest of a careless doctor, medical malpractice cases, no matter how legitimate or clear-cut, are litigated tooth and nail through trial.

This is a poor way of sharing information with patients about the doctors treating them. It is believed that 90% of all malpractice claims come from the conduct of 10% of doctors. While these may not be exact figures, they do seem logical. Persons who make mistakes or who cut corners tend to repeat these mistakes over and over. For example, in San Diego, a dentist has been successfully sued four times for substandard care.

Continue reading "San Diego Patients Should Know About Their Doctors" »

Posted by Ross Jurewitz | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Legislation , Medical Malpractice

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It's always nice to trumpet the accomplishments of friends and their deserving clients.

Last Friday, a San Diego Superior Court jury awarded $5.7 million verdict to a bedridden San Diego man who claimed a doctor failed to diagnose his skin cancer. Under the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, the award will be reduced to $1.9 million. The 1975 state act requires the court to cut general damages to $250,000 in medical-malpractice cases. It is the largest medical-malpractice award in the state this year. The verdict came after a four week trial.

The jury agreed that the plaintiff, Regis M. Reilly, 53, suffered from life-threatening skin cancer after dermatologist James C. Powers failed to remove cysts on the right shoulder that eventually metastasized into cancer.

Reilly's attorney, Denise Asher, said she was pleased by the size of the award because it represented a sum large enough to offset the trauma caused by the misdiagnosis.

"When you see pictures of the cysts, they are football-sized and deep in the tissue," Asher said. Reilly went through a series of surgeries to remove the cancerous tissue. His wife, Karen Reilly, served as his nurse during the multiple surgeries and radiation treatments.

Reilly is confined to his home under around-the-clock medical care and had to be hospitalized during trial.

Good job, Denise.

Posted by Ross Jurewitz | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Medical Malpractice , Verdicts

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